Keep On Keeping On
by SilverOrDaggers
Summary: Lizaveta doesn't think much about the past. She pushes forward and doesn't often look back. But what happens when her entire life is turned upside-down by an unexpected visit from the Spirit World? Eventual OCxHiei. Rated T for language and possible violence later. First few chapters are pretty light, will get more serious later on :
1. Chapter 1

**SilverOrDaggers: **Hey! This is my first ever story, though not my first fanfiction. I've been too scared to publish 'till now 0.0

**Hiei: **Get on with it, onna.

**Kuwabara:** Hey, how come I got no lines in this chapter?

**Hiei:** Because you're an idiot and no one wants to hear you make a fool of yourself.

**Kuwa:** You little punk! You think you're so smart? Let's see when I pound you, demon or not! *starts toward Hiei*

**SilverOrDaggers: **Oh, hush, both of you. Anyway, I hope you like it! Disclaimers, because we have to: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. I own my story and my OC. That's it. (Also, I got the idea for my author's notes from reading a couple different ff7 and yyh fics which had authors interacting with characters. Seems to be a kind of established thing, but since I'm new, I'll put it out there that the style isn't my original idea.)

Aaand, onward!

* * *

_ God, what a day,_ I thought as I turned the steaming hot water off. Could I sleep for the rest of my life? That'd be lovely. Probably would mean a pretty short life, though. Hmm.

I stepped out of the shower onto the tile floor and wrapped a black towel around me. Another bound up my hair, turban-style. I glanced at the mirror, but it was so fogged up I could see only a blur where my reflection should be. Not that it mattered, really; I was just going to bed. I flicked the fan switch on as I left the bathroom, hoping that it would take care of the steam, despite past experience (it had done absolutely nothing from day one, but I still held out hope).

When I reached my room I finished drying my hair, then dropped the towel carelessly on the ground. I straightened up, flipping my hair back and adjusting the towel still around my body as I moved, and then turned to my closet to look for a t-shirt to wear to bed.

A blue haired, pink robed girl poked her head out from between the clothes.

I screamed and jumped about three feet.

"Hiya!" the girl's hand materialized in a wave. I screamed again.

"Oh, shh," she waved a hand and stepped out of the closet. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Fuckshitshitfuck, oh my - what the hell? _Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing in my room?_" I screamed. "Oh my god!" I ran for the door, but she grabbed the back of my towel and yanked me back. I fell right on my bum and looked up at her, my fear fading as I saw that while she looked ridiculous, her face was happy and open, not threatening in the least.

"My name is Botan, and I'm here to talk to you!" she said. "I'm sorry I scared you. I thought you'd think me coming this way was funny and kawaii! And you Americans are always on about kawaii." I stared at her, uncomprehending. "Are you alright?" she offered a hand to me. I ignored it and stood up on my own.

"Fine," I muttered. "But seriously, who the hell are you? What the fuck do you think you're doing breaking into somebody's house and hiding in the fucking closet? I don't even know you! Oh my god, are you some crazy stalker?" I lunged for the pepper spray I kept under my pillow and pointed it at her. She sighed.

"Calm down. Not everything's as it seems. I'm here to ask for your help!"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, mentally calculating how many seconds it would take me to get to the nearest phone and call the police. She'd been quick, but maybe...

"I'll show you!" she grabbed my wrist faster than my eyes could follow and dragged me towards her. I screamed again and the world swirled around me.

_ Oh my god she drugged me! _I don't think I'd ever been so scared in my life. Colors hit me in waves and I had the sensation of floating - flying, maybe - for several moments until for the second time in as many minutes I landed flat on my bum.

In a towel.

In front of five men.

"What the fuck?" I screamed, pulling my thin black layer of protection around me more tightly. I saw the blue haired girl next to me and scrambled up to hide behind her. "What the hell are you thinking, you freak?"

"Whoops!" she blushed, glancing back at me apologetically. "You were freaking out so much! I just wanted to get you here so we could explain things to you! I was flustered!" yeah, she sounded pretty flustered now.

"Damn, this is the chick you told us about?" One of the guys asked. "What a babe! Sign her up for our team!"

"Yusuke, please," another one said in a much calmer voice. "The girl is obviously frightened; try not to make it worse."

"I am going to kill you." I growled at the girl in front of me. She laughed nervously and tried to inch away from me but I grabbed her arms and held her in front of me, not bothering to keep my nails from digging painfully into her skin.

"H-hey, why don't we get you a change of clothes and then come back to talk about -"

"No," I said, my voice still dangerously low, "you are going to send someone to get me a robe, and then you are going to tell me _what the bloody hell is going on_, and then you are going to _take me home_."

"Ehh...Koenma, sir?" she addressed one of her companions. "Could we see about getting her a robe?"

"Here," I peeked over her shoulder in time to see the man - teenager? I couldn't tell his age - produce a robe seemingly out of thin air. I bit back a gasp. I was definitely on drugs. I mean, the guy had a fuckin' pacifier in his mouth. Oh, god...I just hoped they didn't do anything bad to me. Or that I was dreaming.

"Here," the girl reached back awkwardly to give me the robe, which I snatched up and put on, not bothering to remove my towel beneath it. The more layers, the better, I figured. Fortunately, It came down to my ankles, providing enough coverage for me to feel a bit better about stepping out from behind the girl.

Looking around the room, I saw it had light green walls, a light pink and yellow desk with a chair behind it and a blue tile floor. Pillars ran the length of the room, though they looked more ornamental than functional. My only thought was that clearly the decorator had a thing for ugly colors.

I suddenly had the urge to cry. But that wouldn't solve anything, so I swallowed hard, blinked, and said in a perfectly controlled voice, "Someone tell me what is going on. _Now._"

"My name is Koenma," said the guy who'd conjured the robe. "I am the acting ruler of the Spirit World."

"What the hell's -"

"The Spirit World is exactly what it sounds like. It is a place for spirits. It's where you humans go when you die, the place where your fate is decided. It's also where we take care of administrative matters, store information, etcetera."

"Right," I said. _This kid's crazy. They're all crazy. I'm definitely dreaming. I must be!_

"There is much to tell you, but for now we'll stick to the short version," he continued. "Most humans know nothing of the existence of the Spirit and Demon worlds - yes, there's a Demon world as well, and that, too is exactly what it sounds like - but a select few humans, who possess special talents, are chosen to act as protectors of the Human Realm. We call them Spirit Detectives.

"The two boys to your left are examples of such people," he pointed to a tall, orange haired guy and a shorter, dark haired one. The orange haired one was looking at me with a mixture of embarassment and attraction, while the other was arrogant enough to wink at me and grin. I threw them both a dirty look.

"The two to your right," _Whoa, freaks, much? Wicked cool hair. Bet they're into the punk scene._ "Are demons in my service. They also work to protect the realm of mortals."

_ Okay, scratch the bit about the punk scene._

"Now, I'm sure what you're really wondering is why we've brought you here."

I gave him a withering look - Spirit Ruler be dammned - and didn't deign to reply.

"You are a strange case, Miss Anderson." Yikes. He knew my name.

"How so?" I played along. Might as well; if it was a dream, it didn't matter and if (less likely) it was real, then I needed as much information as I could get.

"You don't remember your parents, do you?"

"No," I admitted. "I grew up in an orphanage."

"Yes," he nodded. "Well, as I said, you are a strange case. You are the product of a human and demonic union, a rare occurance indeed." He paused a moment, until I realized I was supposed to react.

"Okay...?"

He huffed a little at my lack of shock. "This means that you possess very valuable talents which quialify you to be a Spirit Detective!"

I couldn't help it; I laughed.

"This is far from a laughing matter, Miss Anderson!"

"Oh, oh my god," I managed to squeeze the words out while still laughing, "this is crazy. Batshit crazy...ah..." I recovered myself and looked about more amiably than before. "So how do I wake myself up, exactly?"

"Excuse me?" Koenma said.

"Usually I wake up the minute I'm sure it's a dream..." I walked to one of the walls and started pushing on it. Funny, it felt as solid as a wall in the waking world. "I mean, really, this has been interesting, but I'm tired of it." I tried snapping my fingers in front of my face. Didn't work.

"Is there a window I could jump out of?" I asked, turning to face them again.

"What?" both Koenma and Botan (that was the blue haired girl's name; I remembered now) shouted.

"Miss Anderson, you are _not_ dreaming!" Koenma exclaimed.

"Oh, bullshit," I said, barely looking at them. "Ah, here we go," I found a window along the back wall, opened it, and hopped up on the sil.

"Not today, human," A voice said behind me, and suddenly I was tugged back, falling through the air until -

I hit the floor.

I hit the fucking floor.

My eyes widened.

"Oh, god," I whispered. I stood up slowly, blinked, rubbed my face and turned around to find them all staring at me. "I'm...I'm not dreaming."

* * *

Yaaay Chapter 1! Reviews welcome, but no flames, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

**SilverOrDaggers: **Yaaay, Chapter 2!

**Kurama:** You're rather energetic, Silver.

**SilverOrDaggers: **Ask me why :3 Go on, do it :33

**Hiei: **You're getting on my nerves, onna.

**Kurama:** Why are you so energetic, Silver?

**SilverOrDaggers:** BECAUSE I'M GOING TO GERMANY, BITCHESSS! :DDD

**Hiei: **How is that even related?

**SilverOrDaggers:** I don't know. I just can't stop thinking about it, so I figured I'd put it on the internet.

**Kurama:** ...SilverOrDaggers does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

**SilverOrDaggers:** Onwaardd!

* * *

"Oh, god," I whispered. I stood up slowly, blinked, rubbed my face and turned around to find them all staring at me. "I'm...I'm not dreaming."

"No, you're not," Koenma confirmed.

"Baka onna," the same voice who'd stopped me muttered. It belonged to one of the demons. Medium height, black hair...which one was he? God, I barely remembered the names, let alone who they belonged to.

"What's...baka oh-na?" I asked. Completely irrelevant, but I was in something close to shock.

"Nevermind that for now," Botan said hurridley. "Are you alright? Here, come sit down." She gestured to a chair I hadn't noticed before. I didn't argue. I walked over and sat down, hard, still reeling at...well, everything.

I tried to replay everything Koenma had already said to me, finding it all but impossible to process. Thankfully, they gave me a minute.

"So..." I finally said. "So you knew my parents."

"Not personally," Koenma said. "But I knew of them."

"You wouldn't..." I hesitated. "You wouldn't happen to have a picture of them, would you?"

"Unfortunately, I do not," he said. "But I can tell you their names were Alinnia and Tristan Anderson."

I committed the names to memory, storing them up and repeating them in my head like treasures.

Alinnia. Tristan.

Beautiful names.

"So...this is real." I said, probably sounding like an idiot. "Shit. This is...wow. Um."

"I realize it's a lot to take in," Koenma said, "but we need you to start training as soon as possible, assuming you'll accept the job?"

"Well..." I tried to think clearly. Thankfully, instinct kicked in. "I'll need to read the contract. Give me the documents and I'll have a look at them before I agree to anything."

"Erm...there isn't exactly a contract," Botan said. "You just agree! Or not, but we're hoping you will!"

"Does that mean I'm free to quit at any time?" I asked. _Quit what, exactly? They've barely told me what a...Spririt...shit, whatever it's called - they barely even told me what the job is!_

"Well, no, not really -"

"Then give me a contract detailing consideration, parties involved, all that stuff," I insisted, "or no deal." I would not be screwed over, even by the ruler of the world. Or, Spirit World, or whatever. Briefly, the thought crossed my mind that if I was dealing with a supreme power of sorts, he might be able to make me do it, regardless. But I shoved that thought away.

Koenma sighed. "I guess we can whip something up."

"Good," I said, still feeling unsure of myself but trying to get some handle of control. "And what did you mean by talents?"

"Hm?" he looked at me. What was with that damn pacifier? "Oh, yes. Your abilities are what we call latent. They're there, but in the back of your consciousness. They've been supressed. We would like to draw them out."

"So you have no idea what they are," I said flatly. This was sounding worse and worse.

"Well, we've speculated that because your mother was a TM -"

"A what?"

"Lizaveta, don't interrupt Koenma-sama!" Botan hissed at me, looking concerned. I ignored her.

"A Temporal Manipulator," Koenma answered my question. "It means she -"

"She could manipulate the flow of _time?_"

"Lizaveta!"

"Precisely, and I'd thank you to listen to Botan and stop interrupting me!" kid looked pissed. I managed to keep from rolling my eyes. Spirit Ruler or not, it was hard to look threatening with a binky in your mouth.

"Now, we'd speculate that you might have some ability in that field," he continued. "But your father was a human with high spirit energy levels. His spirit energy was very interesting; it could take the form of basic, raw energy blasts or of flames that held some characteristics of real fire. It's unsure whether he had some fire-demon blood in him, which could explain the power...but I digress. Basically, you stand a good chance of inheriting the ability to manipulate time and fire, and even in this state I can sense you have an unusually high energy level, despite it being supressed."

"But you don't know for certain," I repeated my statement from a moment before.

"Well, no," Koenma sounded annoyed again, "but we have a very good team of experts in the area who have told us there's an eighty to nine-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," my voice was raising. I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a moment. "Look," I tried again in a lower voice, "I was getting ready for bed when this - when Botan grabbed me and took me here. Can I go home until you get that contract ready?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid you'll have to take an escort," Koenma said.

"What? But -"

"It's too dangerous," this time he cut me off. "The reason we took you so suddenly is that your existence has been made public. Several files have been stolen from our top-secret vault, and yours was among them. You may not realize it, but you're a very desirable person right now; _no one_ knows what you're capable of. And there are going to be many demons and humans who want to find out."

I think I paled, but I kept my expression from changing.

Demons. Fucking _demons_ were going to be after me.

"Now, these are our current Spirit Detectives," Koenma gestured toward the humans and demons, finally explaining their prescence. "Yusuke," the dark-haired, cocky one. "Kuwabara," tall, orange hair, kind of a dopey look. "Kurama," a long-haired demon who, if he'd been human, I'd have assumed came from money. "And Hiei," the demon who'd pulled me from the window. He had a guarded look and black, spiky hair that defied gravity.

"Pleased to meet you," the one named Kurama said, making a little bow.

"Ah - you too," I thought about making a bow back but found it too weird. I waved instead.

"So, we'll guard her back at her place, Koenma?" Yusuke confirmed. Koenma nodded.

"Hold up, hold up!" I said nervously. "Don't you have any...well, female Detectives? Can't Botan stay with me? I mean, you've gotta admit, that's _way_ sketch to just send a girl home with four guys to 'protect' her. I don't know them!"

"I can personally vouch for all of their characters."

"That's no help at all!" I tried not to yell. "I don't know _you_ either!"

"I'll stay, if it's any help to you," Botan offered.

"Thanks," I muttered. "But do I have to take all of them?" I turned to Koenma again. "And why can't you send a -"

"There are no female Spirit Detectives other than you and Botan - if you choose to join, that is."

"There's only four," I clarified. "Earth has _four_ protectors. Oh, that's reassuring." I snorted.

"Hey," Kuwabara stepped forward. "We might be small in number, but we're the strongest people you'll ever meet in your life! The Human Realm is safe in our hands!" He actually struck a pose.

"Ah - yeah," I couldn't bring myself to muster up much confidence. "Great."

"Look," Koenma said, sounding annoyed again, "I understand you feelings about having the four of them stay with you, but if you're left unprotected you'll be a sitting duck for any demon who might take an interest in you. So if you want to live, I suggest you get used to the idea. That said, is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable about the situation?"

_Shit._ He was right. If this _was_ all true, that is, and I wasn't...I don't know, dreaming was out, so...

_Drugs?_ Yeah, sure.

"Ooh, I have an idea!" Botan said. I looked at her suspiciously.

"I'll stay with her and keep sending Koenma reports that everything's fine!"

Well, yeah, but what if she's bad, too, and...

"You're overthinking this," Hiei suddenly said. I turned to look at him. "We have no interest in mortals, and we will not allow those two buffoons to interfere with a mission of ours - however...unpleasant." Was that supposed to be an insult? He'd have to do better than that if he wanted to ruffle my feathers...

"And in any event," Kurama added, stepping forward, "allowing a teammate to harm you would result in a warrant for our arrests."

"Do you really think you're worth that, baka onna?" Hiei asked. What was that word he kept using?

I blinked, oddly enough feeling a little better.

"Alright, fine." I said. "Let's go."

"Botan," Koenma addressed the girl, "take her only by the safest paths in the portals. We're not taking any chances."

"_Hai,_ Koenma-_sama_," Botan bowed a little. Then she turned to us and opened what I assumed was a portal. "Let's go!" she grabbed my hand and dragged me through.

Travelling through the portal was just as weird the second time around. I ended up closing my eyes and letting Botan guide me through it; I couldn't handle the way it messed with my head. Too trippy.

"Oof!" I grunted as I fell clumsily to my bedroom floor. I quickly got up, straightening my robe and glancing around at them all.

"Huh, pretty empty in here," Yusuke was saying.

_It's called minimalism, dumbass,_ I thought. Actually, it was called 'Lizaveta hates having too many things around but still wants her home to look nice'. But who wanted to split hairs?

"Alright," I said, trying to sound business-like. "Um," bad start.

"Botan and one other guard should stay with you at all times," Kurama said. I tried not to sigh in relief. I hated taking charge. "The others will guard other points around and throughout the house."

"Condo," I corrected automatically. Then I realized how ridiculously unimportant the distinction was. I almost laughed.

"Condo," Kurama nodded, as if I'd stated a perfectly relevant fact. Nice of him. "Miss Anderson, we realize that this is all rather uncomfortable for you, but if there is anything we can do to make the situation easier, please let us know."

Damn. "Ah...thank you." I said, rather shocked. I wasn't used to people taking consideration for how I felt. "Um, if you're all going to be setting up then I'm gonna get changed..." I waited. Yusuke and Kuwabara made to leave but the two demons didn't move; instead they started trading observations about the defensibility of my place. "Um," I tried again, "so, if you could just -"

"HEY MORONS!" Yusuked shouted from the hallway, clearly enjoying himself. "THAT MEANS LEAVE!"

"They're not leaving?" Kuwabara exclaimed, turning around. Then he started going on about a lady's honor and how they should be ashamed and how he'd pummel them, class A demons or not (whatever that was) if they didn't get their asses out the door. Kurama had the good grace to look embarassed and apologized for the both of them before leaving.

The silence was rather startling when the door clicked shut.

"Do they always make so much noise?" I asked Botan apprehensively.

"Pretty much," she said. She gave a little awkward laugh and I sighed. I went to my closet and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. I changed, threw the worn clothes in my laudry basket and went to bed.

Of course, that didn't mean I slept.

The one thing I was thankful for was that the demons were the only guards who entered my room. The way I figured it, they couldn't possibly have an interest in someone wholly outside their _species_, so there was no danger of them acting inappropriately.

_They're probably all fine, you know,_ I told myself. _I mean, that Kuwa...bara? Yeah, Kuwabara, he was going on and on about honor and shit...you're just overreacting because you grew up in such a bad area._

_Not bad, just tough._

_Right._ And that was enough referencing the past for me. I started doing a breathing excersize until I relaxed a little.

Botan was surprisingly good about sending her reports, too. Every hour, on the hour, like clockwork. Eventually I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Reviews welcome! :)


	3. Chapter 3

...

...

**Yusuke: **C'mon, Silver, you're gonna have to come out sometime.

**SilverOrDaggers:** not if you bring me food and water.

**Hiei:** Baka. Get out from under your covers and -

**SilverOrDaggers: **nononopleaseeee. i'm too awful to live.

**Kurama: **Silver...

**SilverOrDaggers: ***sigh* Fine... *takes deep breath and jumps out from under her comforter* I'M SORRY I SUCK AT LIFE! PLEASE FORGIVE ME I WILL WRITE LOTS MORE SOON MAYBE!

**SilverOrDaggers: **And...yeah. Thank you so much to the two lovely reviews by iatethedarknessflame and Just 2 Dream of You! I didn't think I'd get any reviews/reads at all to be honest, so I was so happy to see them! :3

**Hiei: **So you showed your thanks by disappearing for four months.

**SilverOrDaggers: ***crawls back under her covers in shame*

**Kuwabara: **Aw way to go, shorty! Now we won't get another update till Christmas! *swings at Hiei*

**Kurama: **At least let me do the disclaimer for her before you two start at it -_-

**Kuwabara:** Fine, but hurry up.

**Kurama:** SilverOrDaggers does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. She owns this story and her OCs. *hands SilverOrDaggers a cookie*

**SilverOrDaggers: **O-onward... *sobs and sticks a hand out to grab the cookie*

* * *

When I woke the next morning, I kept my eyes closed.

_Maybe it was all a dream._ I cracked them open, then, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, looked around hopefully.

"Fuuuuuuuuck!" I moaned into my pillow a moment later.

"What's wrong?" Botan asked through a yawn.

"Nothing," I muttered. I sat up and squinted at the brightness of the room. Even with the shades down, the white walls, furniture and ceiling always managed to make the room well lit from morning to night. "God I hate mornings," I muttered, though it came out as an unintelligible mumble.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Koenma sent us your contract!" Botan thrust a few papers at me. I flinched at the sudden movement but took them. They seemed pretty legit from the skimming I gave them. I decided I'd read it all fully after breakfast.

"You should take care of that as soon as possible," Hiei said. I jumped; I'd forgotten he was there. Actually, Kurama had been there when I went to sleep. They must've switched at some point in the night. "The longer you're defenseless, the longer you're in danger, and a burden for us."

"And how will signing this paper fix that?" I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"You'll receive training if you become a Spirit Detective!" Botan explained. "You'll learn how to fight, and how to use your powers."

"What powers?" I snorted. "Yeah," I said before anyone could tell me what I already knew, "the latent ones, yadda-yadda, I know. Fuckin' batshit crazy-ass..." I muttered the last bit under my breath, continuing as I grabbed something to wear from my closet. "You, out," I jerked a thumb in Hiei's direction. He gave me a look that could've killed, but left without comment.

"Ooh, don't order Hiei around like that again!" Botan said nervously after the door had shut. "He's not the type to take that lightly!"

"Whatever," I shrugged. I'd always been reckless. Why stop now?

When I was decent again (read: dressed only slightly less like a bum in my jeans, five-year-old sneakers and an even older Led Zeppelin t-shirt), I went to the kitchen for breakfast.

Kuwabara, one of the humans, was there. I nodded hello and grabbed some fruit and a protein shake.

"You want anything to eat?" I asked him. "You're human, so you're probably hungry." Then, a beat later, "do demons get hungry?" I turned and asked Hiei.

"Baka," he rolled his eyes. I stared at him for a second, then shrugged and turned back to Kuwabara. "Anyway, there's cereal in that cupboard and milk in the fridge. You can have a protein shake, but only one. They're expensive as fuck."

"Thanks!" he said. "I'm starving." He opened the cabinet and proceeded to take out two boxes of cereal. Nothing I wasn't used to; I had a few male friends. He'd probably eat at least half a box, maybe a whole one, since he'd been up all night.

"Where are the other two?" I asked as I sat down.

"Guarding the perimeter." Geez, did this Hiei guy have any setting but 'deadly serious'?

I started reading the contract. I grabbed a pen and tablet and made notes as I went.

"Well that's shit," I declared upon finishing. "Where's the bit about a healthcare plan, salary, hell, what about covering for me if I can't go in to work because I'm on a mission?"

"But it's not about that!" Kuwabara protested. "It's an honor to protect the ones you love!"

I didn't know what to say to that.

I sighed. "I at least want healthcare. With dental. And vision."

"Don't you already get that with your job?" Yusuke strode through the kitchen door, followed by Kurama. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around. "This place is nice, given the cost of living in this area. You must be loaded, right?"

"Hardly," I snorted. "But I'm not getting in to that right now. Who do I need to speak with to negotiate this?"

"If you want it in writing, Koenma'll do it," Yusuke shrugged. "But usually they don't send us to hospitals. They just heal us. They have their own medicine and stuff."

"Huh," it seemed I still had a lot to learn. No surprise there, though.

"Alright, well I want it in writing, but...I'll sign after that." Kuwabara was right. To have the ability to protect people I loved...it wasn't something I could turn down. I felt kind of ashamed now, to be honest.

"Here you go!" Botan handed a new set of papers to me.

"What the -?!" another contract, this time with my condition. "How -?"

"Koenma faxed it to me just now!" she held up what looked a bit like a ruler, as if to explain. I shook my head exasperatedly and read this one. Same contract, no tricks. Only change in it was my condition.

I smiled a little at the thought of being able to go to the doctor regularly again. Especially since I'd had a cavity for two weeks now. But who could afford to pay full price for that? Not me, that's for sure.

I initialed and signed the last sheet of paper.

"Alright," Botan scooped up both versions of the contract and fed them through a slit in the ruler. They didn't come out the other side.

_Okay, right, laws of nature don't apply, that's perfectly normal...fuck._

"There's no time to waste!" she turned to me, suddenly serious. "You're going to have to start training today. The Dark Tournament is coming up soon, and you're our sixth member!"

"The what?" I managed to ask before I was thrown into another portal.

I was beginning to really hate portals.


End file.
